“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15 NKJV
This is the time of year when many are thinking about the joy of Messiah’s birth, yet also the sorrow of loved ones no longer here. Perhaps that is why Rachel’s tears move me so regarding Yeshua’s flight to Egypt, and the slaughter of the innocents. Matthew transports the weeping mother of Israel from the book of Jeremiah to intercede once again. The Hebrew, however, contains a textual mystery often fixed by translators. When taken literally, however, it provides tremendous insight over those for whom Rachel wept. Rachel, who died long before the exile, is depicted as rising with streaming tears, on behalf of her children being taken to Babylon. Her tears move the Lord to respond.
“Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.” Jeremiah 31:16 NKJV
Despite His assurances of their return, Rachel refused to be comforted. If you have you ever felt like this, you are in good company. The effectual fervent prayer of this mother shook the heavens. No wonder Rachel is considered the quintessential mother of Israel in Jewish literature. Also, I do not take this account as poetic language. I believe she literally wept in heaven and that her exchange with the Holy One of Israel took place. Perhaps, this is the reason the book of Revelation describes God wiping all tears from our eyes as a future event, when death and pain no longer wound God’s people. Perhaps the Lord Himself will not only wipe our eyes, but also tears from His own eyes on that day. (Isaiah 25:8, Rev. 21:4) For now, they are essential.
Weeping for the King Who is No More
I want to show you a nugget from Rachel’s tears, a textual anomaly which translators clean up, but translated literally presents a mystery. The Hebrew Masoretic text does not say Rachel refused to be comforted for her children, because “THEY” are no more.” The Hebrew word, איננו, means “He” is no more. Grammatically, the plural “children” should match the plural “they” are no more, but the Hebrew says – “He” is no more. Why not translate it that way? Well, for one thing, the Greek New Testament and some other texts such as the Greek Septuigent do match the plural children to the plural they. But the Hebrew text cannot be ignored. Such a glaring anomaly was not left untouched by Jewish exegetes. According to some, Rachel wept for two groups, her children being removed, and for the singular “One” who was no more. Who is the “One” for whom she also wept and refused to be comforted?
An old story is told of the 4th Century Rabbi Yossi as he strode along a cobblestone road with Rabbi Hiyya. Yossi turned to Hiyya and said, “Let’s speak of the ancient days.” Rabbi Yossi had been thinking about Rachel’s tears and the incongruence of the plural and singular in the text. He explained to Rabbi Hiyya that Rachel wept not only for the children lost to exile, but also the singular “He” who was no more. And that is when he revealed to his friend who the “He” was!
“Because איננו (einennu), He is no more, because the Holy King had ascended far above and was absent, as is written: because einennu, He is no more…”[1] Rabbi Yossi
Rabbi Yossi believed the singular “He” of the text was the “Holy King”, the Shechinah or Spirit of God, who had left from the Temple when her “children” were led captive.
Weeping for the Messiah who is no More
John Gill, the great Baptist Theologian, also puzzled over this plural “children” and singular “He” for whom Rachel wept in the Hebrew text of Jeremiah.
“(Rachel) is represented as rising out of her grave to act this part…since she was so affectionately fond and desirous of children, (Genesis 30:1 ) ; refused to be comforted for her children; by any of her friends, the loss was so great, the affliction so heavy: because they [were] not; or, “because he was not” (איננו); the Messiah was not, but was slain among the rest of the children, as the Jewish mothers, whom Rachel represented, imagined; and this heightened their distress, and filled them with more grief and trouble than the loss of their own children: but as Matthew has the plural number, the Targum, and all the Oriental versions, it is best to understand it of the children who “were not”[2] Commentary on Jer. 31:15, John Gill
In Jeremiah, Rachel wept for her children and the “One” who was not. Matthew’s Gospel presents Rachel again weeping over her children. Since we only have Matthew in Greek we cannot know for sure, but I wonder if Matthew also saw in the Hebrew text, Rachel weeping for both the children lost in Bethlehem and the Messiah lost to Egyptian exile.
Conclusion
I believe there is a word in this for us today. Are we simply weeping for ourselves, or are we also broken for the presence of God? Of course, Rachel wept for them (the children), but the Hebrew says she also wept for Him singular, and perhaps that was her finest moment of intercession. If Rabbi Yossi is correct to identify the “He” as the Holy King, then Rachel was equally broken over God’s separation from His people. That breaks my heart as well. In this season of Christmas, may our heart break for those separate from God. I also mourn that our Messiah is not physically present. When He comes, He will wipe all tears from our eyes, until then, we weep.
Who will arise like Rachel to intercede both for the children of Israel and the return of the King? Matthew plucks this passage from Jeremiah in the context of the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem by the wicked king Herod, and the exile of the Messiah,
“Rachel refusing to be comforted over her children, for He is no more.”
I wonder if he saw the double inference of the children (plural) in Bethlehem and the Messiah (singular) fleeing to Egypt.
In this season of joy, there will likely be some tears. May you be encouraged, there is One who is makes intercession for you, Yeshua Himself. He sits at the right hand of the Father, speaking to Him on your behalf. May this season of Messiah’s birth truly be for you comfort and joy! (Jer. 31:13)
[1] Sefaria.org.il. (n.d.). Shechinah in exile (with appreciation to Melila Hellner-Eshed). Sefaria. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.sefaria.org.il/sheets/223220.2?lang=en&with=all&lang2=en
[2] Gill, J. (n.d.). Jeremiah 31:15 – meaning and commentary on Bible verse. biblestudytools.com. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/jeremiah-31-15.html